Martin Dent’s JELVIS Repeats as J/111 World Champion
The 2018 J/111 World Championship was hosted in conjunction with the Breskens Sailing Weekend in the Netherlands. A dozen J/111 crews participated from five nations (Belgium, Great Britain, Germany, Netherlands and Switzerland). The teams raced offshore on the North Sea along the famous Benelux beaches and seashore. Hosts for the Worlds were Watersportvereniging Breskens, Royal Yacht Club of Belgium, Koninklijke Roei & Zeilvereniging De Maas, Koninklijke Nederlandse Roei en Zeilvereniging Muiden, Koninklijke Antwerpse Watersportverenging SRNA and the Royal Netherlands Yachting Union (RNYU). The British J/111 contingent would prove formidable over the course of competition. In the end, it was Martin Dent’s JELVIS that loved the big breeze and big winds and repeated their win from 2016 to be crowned the 2018 J/111 World Champion. The first day of competition saw big breeze, big waves and difficult steering conditions in the chop that builds offshore of Breskens due to the current. The second day produced even tougher conditions than the first, with a steady 20-plus knots of wind and huge waves. Spinnaker runs saw boats easily hitting 14+ knots boat speed most of the way down the track to the leeward gates. Dent’s JELVIS team scored a perfect 1-1-1 on the day. The only downside was that Simon Bamford’s team on KESTREL had a massive collision with RED HERRING during the first race of the morning. On the third day, the windspeed was gusting up to 23 knots and waves up to 8 feet high against the current. Britain still ruled after three days of racing, with Dent’s JELVIS in an untouchable position for the final day. In the end, the JELVIS crew won their second J/111 World Championship with a very consistent performance, reveling in the breezy, choppy conditions. Taking second was Tony Mack's McFLY, and the battle for third place was won by Paul van Driel's SWEENY (they were also declared the J/111 Worlds Corinthians Division winner). For more J/111 World Championship information, visit http://www.j111worlds.nl/.
Slow Vineyard Race
New England's classic Labor Day weekend offshore race is Stamford Yacht Club’s annual Vineyard Race. The 238 nautical-mile adventure starts off Stamford Harbor, and takes racers down the length of Long Island Sound to Buzzard's Bay Light Tower (passing it to starboard), then back to Block Island (also passing it to starboard), before again sailing the length of Long Island Sound, back to the finish just inside the harbor. This year’s race may go down in history as one of the longest ever. Winning PHRF Class 11 and Overall PHRF was Bill & Jackie Baxter’s J/111 FIREBALL; their victory took just under 48 hours to complete the course (an average 4.95 knots over 238nm). Second in their class was another J/111, Abhijeet Lele’s VARUNA. For more Vineyard Race information, visit http://www.stamfordyc.com/Sailing/Vineyard_Race_(1).
Swift Time at Phyllis Kleinman Swiftsure Regatta
St. Francis Yacht Club hosted the Phyllis Kleinman Swiftsure Regatta on August 18-19. Reuben Rocci’s J/111 SWIFT NESS won ORR B. For more event information, visit https://www.stfyc.com/.
Rowdy Weekend at Verve Cup Offshore / J/111 Great Lakes Championship
Eleven J/111s competed at the Verve Cup Offshore Regatta hosted by Chicago Yacht Club from August 10-12, which also served as the J/111 Great Lakes Championship. Conditions ranged from a lumpy 6-10 knots on Friday, light winds on Saturday and about 8 knots on Sunday under sunny skies. Richard Witzel's Rowdy won three of the seven races to secure first place with 17 points. Peter Wagner's Skeleton Key took the runner-up position with 20 points, two better than Bradley Faber's Utah in third. For complete event details, visit https://yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=4700.
Wicked Buzzards Bay Regatta
The 2018 Buzzards Bay Regatta was held August 3-5 by Beverly Yacht Club (Marion, MA) and New Bedford Yacht Club (South Dartmouth, MA), with six course circles hosting nearly 200 entrants. The J/111 Wicked 2.0 lead by Douglas Curtiss took the PHRF New England Championship Race 1. Complete event details may be found at https://yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=4710.
J/111 Wicked Wins PHRF Division at Round the Island Race
Edgartown Yacht Club’s Round-the-Island Race (one of America’s oldest distance races) took place around Martha’s Vineyard. It is part of the Edgartown Yacht Club’s Edgartown Race Weekend, which includes two days of buoy racing and a Round-the-Sound Race. Starting at 0800 Saturday morning, the RTI fleet sailed between Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket along the east beach of Chappaquiddick. At midday, the fleet headed into the open Atlantic Ocean off the south coast of the Vineyard. In the afternoon, after rounding the cliffs of Gay Head, the sailors then headed up Vineyard Sound to the finish near Edgartown Harbor. Douglas Curtiss’s J/111 WICKED 2.0 won PHRF A. For more Round the Island Race & Sound information, visit http://rtirace.org/.
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